Sunday, April 09, 2023

Wk.14- Jabeurwocky






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*WEEK 14 CHAMPIONS*
CHARLESTON (SC), USA (WTA 500/Green Clay Outdoor)
S: Ons Jabeur/TUN def. Belinda Bencic/SUI 7-6(6)/6-4
D: Danielle Collins/Desirae Krawczyk (USA/USA) def. Giuliana Olmos/Ena Shibahara (MEX/JPN) 0-6/6-4 [14-12]
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (WTA 250/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Tatjana Maria/GER def. Peyton Stearns/USA 6-3/2-6/6-4
D: Irina Khromacheva/Iryna Shymanovich (RUS/BLR) def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Katarzyna Piter (GEO/POL) 6-1/3-6 [10-6]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ons Jabeur/TUN
...welcome to the 2023 season, Ons Jabeur.

After seeing her opening to the new campaign thwarted by a knee injury (she went 4-4 in limited action), Jabeur used the start of the tour's spring clay court season to once again immediately place herself squarely in the middle of the conversation for, well, pretty much everything. Remember, the Tunisian was the #2-ranked played on tour last year, was a clay court star in both the U.S. (Charleston RU) and Europe (Madrid W, Rome RU), and reached slam finals on Wimbledon lawns and Flushing Meadows hard court. Unlike even the world #1, no surface is a hindrance to Jabeur displaying her unique brand of magical tennis realism.

Handling the weather conditions (rain, wind) and delays that altered the structured timeline of the week, Jabeur managed to find her way through the draw without losing a set, handing out straight sets defeats to Lesia Tsurenko, Caroline Dolehide, Anna Kalinskaya (who retired deep into the 2nd) and Dasha Kasatkina (rallying from a double break down in 1st and utilizing a 4-hour rain delay at 5-3 to mentally turn around the match, staging a comeback to claim the 1st and then overcoming an early break in the 2nd) to return to the Charleston final, where she lost in three sets a year ago to Belinda Bencic.

After being forced to finish her suspended SF on Easter Sunday (it only took six points to finish off Jessie Pegula), Bencic was again Jabeur's opponent with the Charleston title on the line. Once again, Jabeur found her way to the front of the line from an early disadvantage, coming back from 5-3 down in the 1st and winning the opener on her 6th SP, then going on to claim the title without having lost a single set all week, winning 7-6(6)/6-4.

It's Jabeur's fourth WTA title (in her 11th final), and first in the U.S. after having lost her first four finals there.


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RISER: Belinda Bencic/SUI
...Bencic was one of the most successful players during the season's first two months, winning two titles. But her 1Q-closing slip (1-3) slowed her momentum, while the Sunshine swing also (rather quietly) saw the end of her successful (as most are), though brief (as most are, as well) stint with Dmitry Tursunov as coach, as the two parted ways after Miami.



As has sometimes been the case, WTA players (well, unless you're named Anett) often seem to benefit from the breath of fresh air provided by the exit of the oft-controversial Tursunov, and Bencic surely rediscovered her stride in Charleston, coming in as defending champin and finally getting her "second wind" in the '23 season. Wins over Katherine Sebov, Shelby Rogers (from a set down), Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jessie Pegula (finished up on Sunday w/ the completion of a 2nd set TB) got the Swiss back into the final as a defending champion for the first time in her career. Bencic's third final appearance of the season ties her with Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina for the tour lead.

A year after defeating her in three sets for the crown, though, Bencic fell in two to Ons Jabeur this time around, but once again teamed with the Tunisian (as most seem to do when given the opportunity) to provide something of a temporary antidote to the recent trend of unsavory and/or tense moments between competitors on tour.


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SURPRISE: Nuria Brancaccio/ITA
...the 22-year old is another of the young Italians (w/ Cocciaretto, Paolini, Bronzetti and Stefanini) making noise over the past few seasons (largely) just below the main tour spotlight.

Brancaccio came into Bogota ranked at #206, with a pair of '23 ITF clay court challenger finals (1-1) after having ended last year at a career-best #267. Her biggest result was a WTA 125 runner-up on home clay in Bari in September.

In Colombia, Brancaccio qualified (w/ a win over Fernanda Contreras) and posted MD wins over Despina Papamichail and Sinja Kraus to reach her first tour-level QF. She fell to defending champ Tatjana Maria, but will crack the Top 200 and climb all the way up to #170 (ITA #8) on Monday.

The Italian is 15-5 on the court in 2023.


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VETERAN: Tatjana Maria/GER
...a year ago, Maria made her way through qualifying in Bogota and ultimately claimed her second tour singles title, her first since becoming a mother for a second time.

This week the 35-year old German returned to Colombia -- she's just the 5th '22 champ, a list which also includes Bencic this week in Charleston, to even *try* to defend a singles title in the 11 returning events so far in '23 (the list jumps to 16 if you include the 5 events last held in 2020-21) -- and once again went through the MD field and into the final without dropping a set. Maria posted wins over Katrina Scott, Carolina Alves, Nuria Brancaccio and Francesca Jones to set up a meeting with Bannerette Peyton Stearns on Easter Sunday.

Maria dropped the first set to the '22 NCAA champ and maiden tour finalist, but won in three to claim her third WTA title and extend her Bogota winning streak to 12 matches.



Even with the win, Maria's ranking will slip from #66 to #71. Of course, if her '22 Wimbledon semifinal run had earned her ranking points she'd be in the Top 30.

Last year, Maria went on to fall in the 1st Round in Paris, but rode her slice-heavy (or should that be "heavy slice-heavy?") game to that SW19 semi, as her five match wins account for the *only* slam match MD victories she's collected since 2018 (she's 0-10 in other major 1st Rd. matches during the stretch).
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COMEBACKS: Francesca Jones/GBR and Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
...two seasons after her inspiring breakout qualifying run at the Australian Open, Jones is back after missing twelve months of action with elbow, shoulder and foot injuries.

The 22-year old old, born with eight fingers and seven toes due to electrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia syndrome, returned to action earlier this season. Bogota was Jones' sixth event back (after 5 challengers) since her initial February '22 injury (the same month she cracked the Top 150), and she used her protected ranking to gain a spot in her first tour-level MD since the 2021 Wimbledon.

Jones opened the week with her second career Top 100 win over Nuria Parrizas Diaz, then followed up with victories over Carol Zhao and '22 Bogota finalist Laura Pigossi to reach her maiden WTA QF and SF, becoming at #817 the lowest-ranked tour semifinalist since an unranked, back-from-maternity-leave Patricia Maria Tig reached the Bucharest final in 2019.

Jones fell to defending champ Tatjana Maria, but will cut her ranking by more than half, rising around 430 spots to inside the Top 390 on Monday.



Kasatkina didn't add a second Charleston title to the one she won back in 2017 (her maiden tour crown), but her SF result (even w/ blown 1st and 2nd set leads against Ons Jabeur) was just what the Hordette needed as she kicks off a spring clay campaign that will end with a big points defense of her RG semifinal points from last year.

While Kasatkina managed to reach a final in Adelaide in January (she lost love & 2 to Bencic), she'd stumbled badly in the season's biggest events this season in Melbourne (AO 1r), Dubai (2r), Indian Wells (3r) and Miami (2r). So her trio of wins in Charleston over Madison Brengle, Bernarda Pera and Madison Keys could play a big part in righting her ship as she tries to hold onto her Top 10 ranking.

She had a *chance* at something more, leading Jabeur by a double-break in the 1st, only to lose the opener after a four-hour rain delay after she'd been just a few points away from taking the set at 5-3. Kasatkina held an early break edge in the 2nd, as well, only to drop the match 7-5/7-5 as Jabeur advanced to her second straight final at the event.

In 2022, Kasatkina went 12-4 during the spring clay season after she'd seen her 8-3 start Down Under followed by a 3-4 stretch during the post-AUS hard court stretch. In addition to the semi in Paris, she reached the same stage in Rome, then collected a pair of hard court titles (San Jose/Granby) over the summer en route to her first Top 10 season since 2018.
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FRESH FACES: Peyton Stearns/USA and Diana Shnaider/RUS
...these two continue to feather the nest of tour-level success for NCAA players.

Less than a year ago, Stearns won the NCAA's women's championship while going to school at Texas. After her week in Bogota, where she reached her second WTA QF and maiden SF/F she'll make her Top 100 debut.

The 21-year old, who posted her first tour-level win in Austin just last month (she reached the QF, doing so in her old college town) made her first WTA clay event a memorable one, knocking off Rosa Vicens Mas, Elina Avanesyan (125 SF in Mexico last week), '21 RG semifinalist Tamara Zidansek and Kamilla Rakhimova to reach her first tour final.

Stearns was the first player all week to take a set off defending champ Tatjana Maria, but fell to the German in three sets. She'll climb to a career-high #89 (from #116) on Monday.



19-year old Shnaider has already made a name for herself with a star-making (albeit in a losing effort) turn against Maria Sakkari at the Australian Open just a year after she'd won the girls' doubles title in Melbourne. Now a freshman tennis star at N.C. State, Shnaider took some time away to play a tour-level event in neighboring South Carolina. All she did was add to Alycia Parks' post-Lyon misery, then clock her first career Top 20 win with a victory over '21 Charleston champ Veronika Kudermetova. They were her first tour wins since that loss to Sakkari, as her WTA losing streak had stood at four matches

Shnaider lost her 3rd Round match-up with '21 semifinalist Paula Badosa in straight sets. Still, already in the Top 100, Shnaider will inch up a bit more into the Top 90 next week, coming in at a new career high of #87. By the weekend, she was back wearing Wolfpack red and white.


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DOWN: Veronika Kudermetova/RUS
...after finishing 2022 in the singles Top 10, Kudermetova's singles results have dipped in the early months of '23.

The Hordette's opening (2r) loss in Charleston to countrywoman Diana Shnaider leaves her 1-3 in the North American (w/ I.W./Miami) swing, and 1-5 starting with her comprehensive 6-0/6-1 defeat at the hands of Iga Swiatek in the Doha semis. Kudermetova started this season at 4-1 (w/ an Adelaide SF walkover loss), but now stands at 10-8, having fallen from her season-ending #9 ranking to #13.

Kudermetova was the Charleston champ in 2021.

She's had a bit more early success in doubles this year, a season after winning in Rome and the WTAF and finishing at #2. Still, though Kudermetova won the Dubai title alongside Liudmila Samsonova she's gone just 2-5 in WD in her other events as her ranking has inched down to #5. She didn't play doubles in Charleston.
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ITF PLAYER: Tara Wurth/CRO
...in Split, Croatia, Wurth took home the crown (career ITF #5) on home clay with a 6-2/3-6/6-4 win over 17-year old Czech Sara Bejlek. 20-year old Wurth, who defeated fellow Croat Petra Marcinko in the QF, will crack the Top 150 for the first time in the new rankings. She also reached the doubles final.

For Bejlek, it was her first loss in a pro singles finals, dropping her to 4-1. The final was her first since July, though she's been a bit busy since then, making her U.S. Open and Australian Open main drew debuts and lifting her ranking into the Top 200. She'll be at a new career high of #155 on Monday, and was recently announced as a BJK Cup replacement for Katerina Siniakova in next week's qualifier for the Czech squad.
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JUNIOR STAR: Taylah Preston/AUS
...17-year old Preston, a two-time Newcombe Medal winner as the Australian female junior of the year, posted her best pro singles result by reaching the SF of the $15K challenger in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Preston had recorded just five pro singles victories (in 15 matches) coming into the week, but added three in this event before losing to Elena Pridankina. The tournament was just her second on the pro level outside of Australia, following her qualifying run and tour-level MD debut last summer at Rosmalen.

In 2022, Preston won a pair of J1 girls titles at Nonthaburi and Nottingham.
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DOUBLES: Danielle Collins/Desirae Krawczyk, USA/USA
...Collins & Krawczyk had to really *want* their Charleston title, as they had to battle through *four* MTB to get it, defeating in "overtime" the likes of Bucsa/Danilovic, #2-seeded Mladenovic/Zhang, Siegemund/Zvonareva and then top seeds Giuliana Olmos & Ena Shibahara (who hadn't dropped a set en route to the final) in a 14-12 breaker in the championship match. The Bannerettes saved two MP in the final.

With their third-time partnership (the others came at the AO and Wimbledon last season), Krawczyk picks up her eighth career WTA WD title, while Collins becomes the eighth (and second this week) first-time doubles champ on tour in '23.
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WHEELCHAIR: Momoko Ohtani/JPN
...a week after winning her first singles title in four years, Ohtani picked up her second straight by taking the Series 1 event in Daegu, South Korea. It's the biggest career singles title for the current world #5.

The #2 seed, Ohtani defeated the #3 in countrywoman Manami Tanka in the semis, then #1 Zhu Zhenzhen 7-5/6-4 in the final. Ohtani has won seven straight matches, and is 11-1 with three straight appearances in finals dating back to March's Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge (where she lost to Diede de Groot).

For the second consecutive week, Zhu & Tanaka won the doubles, while Zhu also avenged her singles loss last week to 51-year old Sakhorn Khanthasit by defeating the Thai player in the semis.
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1. Charleston 3rd Rd. - Jessie Pegula def. Irina-Camelia Begu
...7-5/4-6/6-4. Pegula and Begu took turns playing "Alona Ostepenko" here, as Pegula led 7-5/4-0, lost ten straight games to fall behind 4-0 in the 3rd, then swept the final six games. She claimed the final two at love, winning 24 of 28 points to end the match.


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2. Bogota 1st Rd. - Carol Zhao def. Maria Carle
...4-6/7-5/7-6(6). The Canadian prevails in 3:26, staging a comeback after squandering a 3-1 1st set lead, then 4-1 and 5-3 edges in the 3rd. In the deciding set TB, Zhao was down triple MP at 6-3 before sweeping the final five points.


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3. Charleston 2nd Rd. - Shelby Rogers def. Caty McNally
...6-7(4)/7-5/6-1. Shades of McNally's loss in the Merida SF to Rebecca Peterson, where the Bannerette led 4-0 in the 3rd before dropping six straight games to miss out on her maiden tour singles final.

Here McNally led 7-6/5-3 and served for the match, but lost the final four games of the 2nd, then six of seven in the 3rd.


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4. Bogota Final - Tatjana Maria def. Peyton Stearns
...6-3/2-6/6-4. Maria is the second woman (Iga/Doha) to defend a WTA singles title this year, and hers is the seventh successful defense since 2020. At 35, she's by far the oldest to do it (the most recent to come close is a 34-year old Serena repeating at Wimbledon in '16), and is the first to win back-to-back in Bogota since home favorite Fabiola Zuluaga won three in a row from 2002-04.

Stearns in the fifth different U.S. woman to reach a tour singles final this year, the most from any nation on tour.


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5. Charleston 3rd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Shelby Rogers
...4-6/7-5/6-2. Rogers rallies from 4-1 down to win the opening set, but ultimately falls in three.

Naturally, the story here was the so-called near "bump" of Bencic by Rogers as they passed between the 2nd and 3rd sets...



Truthfully, it seems more like a "Bencic reaction" than a move of "intimidation" from Rogers, who seemed more lost in thought and barely paying attention. There certainly didn't seem to be any animosity in the post-match meeting at the net.



Of course, that didn't prevent social media, Tennis Channel and even Bencic herself from playing up the moment, just days after the big taunting storyline had consumed the next-day (plus a few more) discussion of the NCAA women's basketball final.



Now *this* is a bump (no "quotes" necessary)...



*TWENTY-SIX* years ago now!!
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6. Bogota Final - Irina Khromacheva/Iryna Shymanovich def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Katarzyna Piter 6-1/3-6 [10-6]
Charleston Final - Danielle Collins/Desirae Krawczyk (USA/USA) def. Giuliana Olmos/Ena Shibahara 0-6/6-4 [14-12]
...there was derry-do en route to the doubles titles in Week 14.

In Bogota, the Iri(y)nas took the crown after having saved a pair of MP in the semis vs. Irina Bara/Sara Errani.



It's Khromacheva's second tour title (the other was in '18), and Shymanovich's first.

Kalashnikova/Piter also reached, and lost, the 125 final in San Luis Potosi last week.

In Charleston, another first-time tour WD champ was crowned in Collins, who teamed with Krawczyk to take out the top seeds in the final, with two MP saves of their own.


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7. Charleston Final - Ons Jabeur def. Belinda Bencic
...7-6(6)/6-4. Jabeur win a rematch of the '22 final.

This was actually Jabeur's *third* final in Charleston, as not only did she reach the big event's final a year ago (a loss to Bencic) but she also played in the pandemic schedule Charleston 250 final in '21 (a loss to Astra Sharma).

Afterward, Ons was handing out gifts...


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8. Charleston 1st Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Elina Svitolina
...6-7(3)/6-2/6-4. Svitolina plays her first match in 13 months, just 6 months after giving birth. Putintseva still barely squeaked by.


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9. Bogota 2nd Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Emiliana Arango
...6-4/6-3. If it feel as if we haven't heard much from Sorribes Tormo of late, it's because we haven't heard anything. The Spaniard finally made her belated '23 debut in Bogota after dealing with a lingering foot injury, and reached the QF (her first since Palermo last July).

Sorribes came into the week ranked #106 after having reached #32 last February. This looks familiar, though.


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10. Bogota 1st Rd. - Mirjam Bjorklund def. Elise Mertens
...6-1/4-6/7-6(3). Bjorklund ripped off five straight games to open the match, and won seven of the first eight.

Still, the Swede found herself down 5-2 in the 3rd, with Mertens serving at 5-3. The Waffle came within *two* points of the win in games 8, 9, 10 and 12, but never reached MP as Bjorklund went on to win a deciding TB.


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11. Charleston SF - Belinda Bencic def. Jessie Pegula
...7-5/7-6(5). The two weathered the weather on a loooong Saturday, not getting onto the court until late, playing in a consistent rain, and then seeing the match called for the night with Bencic up 7-5/6-6, but with Pegula leading 4-2 in the 2nd set TB.



They returned on Easter afternoon, after the doubles final, and Pegula took a 5-2 lead, but Bencic swept the final five points to quickly return to the final for her Charleston title defense attempt.

The loss drops Pegula to 1-3 in SF this season. She'd previously had to rally from 4-0 down in the 3rd (vs. Irina Camelia Begu) as well as battle both the wind and Paula Badosa just to get that far in Charleston.
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12. Bogota 1st Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Ylena In-Albon
...6-3/6-2. Wild card Bouchard plays and wins her first tour MD match since Guadalajara last October.


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13. Charleston QF - Ons Jabeur def. Anna Kalinskaya
...6-0/4-1 ret. Kalinskaya's good week of results ends with a retirement. I guess that qualifies as one of more "evergreen" WTA comments of recent seasons, doesn't it?

*This* time Kalinskaya posted wins over Anhelina Kalinina, Alize Cornet and Victoria Azarenka, putting in seven hours on the court (and playing with blisters on her feet) *before* facing Jabeur in the QF. She won one game, and pulled the ripcord two games from defeat, officially retiring due to illness.


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14. Charleston 1st Rd. - Caroline Dolehide def. Sabine Lisicki
...6-4/6-4. 33-year old Lisicki, the Charleston champ fourteen years ago, sees her latest comeback from injury take her through a successful qualifying run and MD appearance, just her second in the event since 2015. She's 9-3 on the season, and will jump up to #278, her best standing since 2019.
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15. Charleston QF - Jessie Pegula def. Paula Badosa
...6-3/7-6(6). Badosa has posted QF-SF-QF results in the last three Charleston events, and had recorded nice wins over Leylah Fernandez and Diana Shnaider this past week before a combination of Pegula and windy conditions did her in here after she'd managed to thwart Pegula's attempt to serve out the match *before* the 2nd set TB.
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16. Charleston QF - Dasha Kasatkina def. Madison Keys
...6-7(5)/6-4/6-2. Keys loses her one set advantage, then the match, in this match-up of former Charleston champions.

Two of Keys' three career clay finals (w/ '16 Rome) have come in Charleston (2015 RU, 2019 W).
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17. $25K Kashiwa JPN Final - Nao Hibino def. Jang Su-jeong
...6-4/6-3. Hibino picks up her first singles title since the tour-level Hiroshima event in 2019, denying Jang her third consecutive challenger crown.
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18. $25K Santa Margherita di Pula ITA Final - Sonay Kartal def. Ekaterina Makarova
...3-6/6-2/6-1. The 21-year old Brit, who'd defeated top seed Arantxa Rus in the 2nd Round, improves to 7-1 in career ITF singles final, winning her seventh straight final.
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1. Charleston 2nd Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Veronika Kudermetova
...6-4/6-3. After missing out on her first Top 10 win in Melbourne (vs.Sakkari), the 19-year old picks up her first Top 20 victory vs. countrywoman Kudermetova.


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2. Charleston 1st Rd. Linda Fruhvirtova def. Jil Teichmann
...6-2/3-6/6-2. Fruhvirtova had a star-turn moment in Charleston two years ago, reaching the QF of the single-year 250 event after having outlasted Alize Cornet in a dramatic 1st Rounder for her first WTA MD win. She's gone out in the 2nd Round of the big 500 tournament in the city the last two years (losing to Belinda Bencic in '22, then Caroline Dolehide this year).

Since her win over Bencic in Indian Wells, Teichmann has gone 0-3.
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3. $25K Jackson (MS) USA Final - Timea Babos def. Whitney Osuigwe
...7-5/7-5. Babos wins her first ITF singles title since 2014, and first on any level since 2018 (Taipei 250).

Osuigwe falls in her second of two finals this season, as the 20-year old Bannerette -- the '17 RG Jr. champ -- continues to seek her first singles title since 2019
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I feel like Swiatek comes off as a bit all over the place on these cherry-picked comments. Some hit and speak to the complicated nature of RUS/BLR tennis players' positions, while some don't and come off as a bit naive (especially regarding the motivations of and the ways to combat the actions of a character like Putin, as well as her seemingly endorsing the sport reflexively using tour players as pawns in a global political chess game). All really just continue to muddy already toxic water and throw a live wire into the puddle.

One should note the "two can play at that game" aspect of this, as Hitler argued for Jews to be excluded from participation in the Germany-hosted 1936 Olympics, and did bar Jewish athletes from being part of the German team in Berlin. And, yes, German and Japanese athletes *were* barred from the first post-war Games held in 1948. They were welcomed back in 1952.

The full comments in the BBC article put things into a bit better context, mostly around the notion that the moment for the tour Powers That Be to jump in front of all this was at the *start* (though I'm not sure her throwing the ATP into the mix is 100% accurate, as the men's tour doesn't seem to have the same sort of ongoing tension between players on this issue).



Meanwhile, the distrust/exasperation from the Ukrainian players regarding the WTA's "decision-makers" continues to simmer...



Hard to believe that the tour hasn't addressed the Anastasia Gasanova issue at all... yet quickly reprimanded Anastasia Potapova for wearing a Moscow soccer jersey of a team she'd publicly rooted for for many years. A move showing as little consistency as the game of a few WTA players, I'd say.

Many of the questions brought up by Ukrainian players in the recent meeting make sense, as far as helping with training sites and mental health assistance, as well as the frustration with the tour's overall playing-from-behind (at best) planning around and dealing with the entire situation. It took more than a year for a meeting -- and not a face-to-face one -- like this to take place?

That said, not sure where the question about shielding the UKR players from "discrimination" (lost in translation?) is coming from, as that hasn't seemed to be an issue over the past year. And the notion that the tour would have a plan to "protect the universal human rights of the players from Ukraine," and "preserve our basic right to do our work in peace" doesn't feel fully grounded in the reality of what a sports organization is truly capable of (100%) ensuring apart from playing in empty stadiums with invitation-only fields.

Still, the silence on the other end (i.e. the tour) speaks volumes about not just a lack of ideas but, worse, maybe a lack of will to try to dig around to find them other than undertaking "hand-holding" and "hopes and prayers"-like acts that are really just attempts at kick-the-can-down-the-road public relations.

Of course, Marta Kostyuk, as usual, remains a fly in the can-we-talk-about-this-reasonably soup, as she proposes that the RUS/BLR military action "knowingly created an advantage" for RUS/BLR players over UKR players... umm, as if that was even a small aim of Putin's decisions? Not sure how anyone in the meeting was supposed to answer *that* sort of question without the answer sounding as absurd as the question.

Meanwhile, the WTA, after a rare good first step, still hasn't figured out how to answer "the China question," so one shouldn't hold their breath expecting much movement when it comes to solutions (whatever those are) *here*, either.





















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Shot of the Month nominee, anyone?...









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*2023 WTA SINGLES TITLE RUNS W/O DROPPING SET*
Adelaide 1 - Aryna Sabalenka
Auckland - Coco Gauff
Hobart - Lauren Davis
Doha - Iga Swiatek
Charleston - ONS JABUER

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2023*
3 - Aryna Sabalenka (2-1)
3 - BELINDA BENCIC (2-1)
3 - Elena Rybakina (1-2)
2 - Iga Swiatek (1-1)
2 - Caroline Garcia (0-2)
[2020s]
14 - 1/2/9/2: Iga Swiatek (12-2)
12 - 3/3/3/3: Aryna Sabalenka (7-5)
12 - 1/7/4/0: Anett Kontaveit (5-6-1)
11 - 5/0/3/3: Elena Rybakina (3-8)
10 - 0/3/6/1: ONS JABEUR (4-6)
9 - 1/6/2/ret: Ash Barty (8-1)
8 - 0/4/3/1: Barbora Krejcikova (6-2)
8 - 0/3/2/3: BELINDA BENCIC (4-4)

*LOW-RANKED WTA FINALISTS IN 2023*
#140 - Rebecca Peterson (Merida)
#136 - Lesia Tsurenko (Hua Hin)
#130 - Rebeka Masarova (Auckland)
#116 - PEYTON STEARNS (Bogota)
#102 - Linda Noskova (Adelaide 1)
[semifinalists - 2020s]
#817 - FRANCESCA JONES (2023 Bogota)
#298 - Nadia Podoroska (2022 Chennai)
#283 - Leonie Kung (2020 Hua Hin) - RU
#280 - Sofia Kenin (2023 Hobart)
#272 - Genie Bouchard (2020 Istanbul) - RU
#270 - Renata Zarazua (2020 Acapulco)
#268 - Aleksandra Krunic (2021 Cluj-Napoca)
#237 - Tatjana Maria (2022 Bogota) - W

*MOST RECENT TOP 4 SEEDS TO SF*
2017 Monterrey: #1 Kerber, #2 Pavlyuchenkova, #3 Garcia, #4 CSN
2023 Charleston: #1 Pegula, #2 Jabeur, #3 Kasatkina, #4 Bencic

*2023 OLDEST WTA WS CHAMPIONS*
35 - TATJANA MARIA (Bogota)
33 - Petra Kvitova (Miami)
31 - Camila Giorgi (Merida)

*2020s WTA REPEAT WS CHAMPIONS*
[2020]
Brisbane - Karolina Pliskova
Saint Petersburg - Kiki Bertens
[2021]
Miami - Ash Barty
[2022]
Monterrey - Leylah Fernandez
Rome - Iga Swiatek
[2023]
Doha - Iga Swiatek
Bogota - TATJANA MARIA

*2023 FIRST-TIME WTA WS FINALISTS*
Linda Noskova, CZE (#102/18 = Adelaide 1)
Rebeka Masarova, ESP (#130/23 = Auckland)
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA (#67/21 = Hobart)
Alycia Parks, USA (#79/22 = Lyon)-W
Zhu Lin, CHN (#54/29 - Hua Hin)-W
Varvara Gracheva, RUS (#88/22 - Austin)
Marta Kostyuk, UKR (#52/20 - Austin)-W
PEYTON STEARNS, USA (#116/21 - Bogota)

*2023 FIRST-TIME WTA SEMIFINALISTS *
Auckland - Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL (28/#95)
Lyon - Alycia Parks, USA (22/#79) - W
Austin - Katie Volynets, USA (21/#92)
Bogota - FRANCESCA JONES, GBR (22/#817)
Bogota - PEYTON STEARNS, USA (21/#116) - RU

*2023 FIRST-TIME WTA WD CHAMPS*
Cristina Bucsa, ESP - Lyon
Wu Fang-hsien, TPE - Hua Hin
Liudmila Samsonova, RUS - Dubai
Diane Parry, FRA - Merida
Maria Paulina Perez, COL - Monterrey
Yuliana Lizarazo, COL - Monterrey
DANILLE COLLINS, USA - Charleston
IRYNA SHYMANOVICH, BLR - Bogota
[mixed]
Luisa Stefani, BRA (Australian Open)

*TOP RANKED U.S. WOMAN, BY SEASON*
1975 #1 Chris Evert
1976 #1 Chris Evert
1977 #1 Chris Evert
1978 #1 Martina Navratilova
1979 #1 Martina Navratilova
1980 #1 Chris Evert
1981 #1 Chris Evert (5)
1982 #1 Martina Navratilova
1983 #1 Martina Navratilova
1984 #1 Martina Navratilova
1985 #1 Martina Navratilova
1986 #1 Martina Navratilova
1987 #2 Martina Navratilova
1988 #2 Martina Navratilova
1989 #2 Martina Navratilova
1990 #3 Martina Navratilova
1991 #4 Martina Navratilova
1992 #5 Martina Navratilova
1993 #3 Martina Navratilova (14)
1994 #6 Lindsay Davenport
1995 #1 (co) Monica Seles
1996 #2 (co) Monica Seles (2)
1997 #3 Lindsay Davenport
1998 #1 Lindsay Davenport
1999 #2 Lindsay Davenport
2000 #2 Lindsay Davenport
2001 #1 Lindsay Davenport
2002 #1 Serena Williams
2003 #3 Serena Williams
2004 #1 Lindsay Davenport
2005 #1 Lindsay Davenport
2006 #25 Lindsay Davenport (9)
2007 #7 Serena Williams
2008 #2 Serena Williams
2009 #1 Serena Williams
2010 #4 Serena Williams
2011 #12 Serena Williams
2012 #3 Serena Williams
2013 #1 Serena Williams
2014 #1 Serena Williams
2015 #1 Serena Williams
2016 #2 Serena Williams
2017 #5 Venus Williams (1)
2018 #6 Sloane Stephens (1)
2019 #10 Serena Williams (13)
2020 #4 Sofia Kenin
2021 #12 Sofia Kenin (2)
2022 #3 Jessie Pegula (1)
2023...#3 Jessie Pegula (current)






futuristic-fonts


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I see this tweet and think, "Damn, that Redskins helmet looks great." (Worn by Perry Brooks, BTW, for what it's worth.)

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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 10:10 PM 

7 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Rain on Saturday made a mess of both events.

Kasatkina and Rakhimova were both leading before the rain and lost, while Jones was leading in the second set, with Pegula leading in her tiebreak. Both lost.

Serban's serve is messed up. Lower body is off.

Sebov in for Andreescu on BJK Cup roster.

Preview coming Thursday as it is another Fri-Sat tilt.

I goofed before, but Madrid is listed as 96 player event this year.

Lisicki channeled her inner Ostapenko, questioning almost every line call on clay.

Stat of the Week- 4- Number of MD wins on grass for Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

You have Parks to thank for this. Due to her struggles outdoors, why not look at one of the most surface dependent players in history.

For a once surface wonder, Lino had a good career. She reached 5 finals, no surprise they were all on clay.

Before I get to that, her 4 MD wins on grass match the ones in Q. But that should not have been a surprise, as she managed to play the first 6 years of her career without playing on that surface.

Den Bosch 2011 stands out because Lino beat Chakvetadze, making this her only non Wimbledon win on grass in her career. Chakvetadze, near the end of her career, would never win another match on grass.

Hard was better. Even though she went the last 3 1/2 years of her career without a MD win on hard, but 7 in Q, she ended up with 27 MD wins, 27 Q wins.

See the number 27? That was the number of MD wins she had in Bogota alone, the place where she won her two titles in 2006 & 2011, plus where she reached the final in 2005, coming through Q.

The career high #40 has 45 wins in Q on clay, 97 in MD, including her last WTA win in Bogota- 2016.

Dominguez Lino maximized what she did well.

Quiz Time!

Which former WTA player did not play for University of Texas?

A.Patty Fendick
B.Beverly Bowes
C.Jill Craybas
D.Vladimira Uhlirova

Interlude- Something light, so I don't have to rant about Nashville.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-_QHCm39_8


Peyton Stearns is keeping Texas on the map!

(D)Uhlirova seems wrong, since she Played at Sam Houston State, but transferred to Texas, where she played both singles and doubles. 2002 grad played the meat of her WTA career between 2007-13, with 5 doubles titles, a career high rank of 18 in doubles, and the 2007 USO SF with Szavay her highlights.

Also won 17 ITF doubles titles.

(B)Bowes is wrong. A star at Texas in the 80's, she pulled a Shnaider, playing her first slam before her first college match. Famously telling a writer once "You should title your article 0-10" referring to her Wimbledon record, which was actually 0-6, she was a 2 surface player that only won one match on grass in a career that spanned from 1983-95.

It wasn't even in the UK. It was at the Australian Open, the last year they played on grass.

Keeping with the Texas theme, she was head coach for a season at SMU, before becoming an assistant coach at Texas.

(C)Craybas is also wrong. Known as a member of Florida's 1996 championship team, she also won a title with Texas in 1993. With a career high (39S/41D) that is similar in both respects, the biggest influence on the tour may have come from the fact that she came from Rhode Island, not known as a tennis hotbed. In fact, they now give out the Jill Craybas Award, also known as Rhode Island's College Women's Player of the Year.

(A)Fendick is correct. That is obvious if you followed the sport in the 80's, when she was an All-American at Stanford. But if you don't follow college tennis, you might not know that she was the head coach at Texas for 9 years, then known as Patty Fendick-McCain.

Mon Apr 10, 11:28:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Okay, "Jabeurwocky" is absolutely inspired. I bow to it.

I can't confirm the accuracy of this, but I read somewhere that Gasanova had been spotted at a pro-Ukraine rally some time ago. This wouldn't surprise me--there's so much that we don't know.

Mon Apr 10, 12:56:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

I must say, I like the Fri-Sat Cup set-up. More time to do the recap, of course. ;)

Quiz: I wasn't sure where Fendick played, but I didn't think it was Texas. I remember Dick Enberg talking about her on NBC's coverage, so I figured it was somewhere in California.

Video: (in mind) Thinking of a Carl/Carla Geico ad. :P



D-

I can't believe I'd never thought of it before! (Maybe I should do the Lewis Carroll quotes thing for RG.)

Well, apparently, Gasanova had spoken out against the war early on, too. Long before those IG comments last year.


BJK picks (subject to change w/ any big withdrawals):

[*-home; CZE/UKR-neutral site]

ESP* d. MEX 3-1
CZE d. UKR 3-0 (maybe 3-1 w/ extra match)
FRA d. GBR* 3-2 (deciding doubles)
CAN* d. BEL 3-0 (3-1 extra)
USA* d. AUT 3-0 (4-0 extra)
ITA d. SVK* 3-0
BRA d. GER* 3-1 (3-2 extra)
KAZ* d. POL 3-2 (dd)
SLO* d. ROU 3-1

Tue Apr 11, 08:46:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

This was from Fed Cup (that Fed Cup): https://womenwhoserve.blogspot.com/2016/02/russia-collapses-in-first-weekend-of.html

Wed Apr 12, 01:13:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ha! Carroll works do seem to lend themselves quite well to women's tennis, don't they? ;)


** ** ** **

Oh, and I missed a good list for this past weekend:


*BIGGEST AGE DIFF. IN FINAL - 2020s*
14 - Samsonova (23)/Kanepi (37) - 2022 Washington
14 - Maria (35)/Stearns (21) - 2023 Bogota
13 - S.Williams(38)/Pegula(25) - 2020 Auckland
13 - L.Fruhvirtova (17)/Linette (30) - 2022 Chennai
12 - Sh.Zhang (33)/Yastremska (21) - 2022 Lyon
12 - Kerber (34)/Juvan (21) - 2022 Strasbourg
--
NOTE: Maria/Stearns tied for biggest difference since 2019 Guangzhou (15 - Kenin 20/Stosur 35)

Wed Apr 12, 10:53:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

BJK Cup Preview:

CZE-UKR
MIP(Most Important Person)- Kostyuk
The machine that is Czechia has Muchova to use in case of emergency. The mild surprise is that Ukraine goes with Zavatska as 2, but that might make sense with Yastremska 4-4 in last 8 on clay, with 2 sub 200 losses. Czechia rolls before doubles.

ROU-SLO
MIP- Cristian
Slovenia is the lowest ranked team here at 34. Juvan announced a break, but is #2 to Zidansek. Bogdan is only Top 100 singles player here. But Cristian is most important, because Romania has 2 doubles players in Bara and Niculescu. No way Todoni replaces her, so if she plays well, Romania wins before doubles.

POL-KAZ
MIP- Weronika
It's not a hole, it's a crater. An Iga sized one that leaves Weronika Falkowska as #2, with Weronika Ewald as backup. Even if we get Linette's best, it won't be enough. Kazakhstan, unless Putintseva loses her mind, and the match.

FRA-GBR
MIP- Dart
As much as I say that France has no variety, Dodin, Tan and Parry played singles rubbers last year. Alas, we are back to Garcia/Cornet in singles, Garcia/Mladenovic in doubles. Dart is having a terrible year, for GB to pull the upset, should have to play like last year's version. With Watson on the bench, France parties like it is 2019.

BRA-GER
MIP- Friedsam
Due to Niemeier's 6 match losing streak, Friedsam gets to open vs Haddad Maia. IF the vet pulls the upset, it would flip this tie to the point that doubles stars Stefani and Siegemund might have a live rubber. Brazil, but this tie, especially Haddad Maia/Maria on clay, should be good.

ITA-SVK
MIP- Trevisan
Upset city? Italy is the only team here with all Top 100 players(blame Kenin and Bejlek), but has questions. Trevisan is average on hard, while Giorgi doesn't always bring her best. This tie could go sideways if Trevisan loses to the unknown Hruncakova. Half kidding, Hruncakova is the artist formerly known as Kuzmova. Italy, but this is the tie I am least sure of.

AUT-USA
MIP-Grabher
Austrian women take great BJK Cup pics. That doesn't make for a great squad, though putting Paszek in and hoping for 2012 magic wouldn't hurt. Collins, who would be starting for half the teams here, is on doubles duty, which probably sticks as Gauff/Pegula would only play a live rubber. USA big.

BEL-CAN
MIP- Marino
Andreescu is out, but so is Mertens, leading to the unlikely 1/2 for Belgium in Bonaventure/Wickmayer. Those who like lefties will get Fernandez/Bonaventure. Canada should win this.

MEX-ESP
MIP- Parrizas Diaz
At #3, Spain is the highest ranked team here. With Sorribes Tormo working her way back from injury, Parrizas Diaz slots in at 1, even though she has been shaky this year. It should not matter, as the 5th player(Bolsova) has a higher singles ranking than anyone from Mexico. Spain, as Mexico(always) is handicapped by having their best player being doubles only.

Thu Apr 13, 05:42:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

So only one (ROU/SLO) different.

Kuzmova's change is a bit of a mouthful at first glance.

Meanwhile, in zone play, Krunic is back for Serbia. Well, at least she's on the roster... but the ol' Bracelet magic has worked so far as the team is 4-0 without her playing at all. A win in Friday's tie vs. SWE would clinch promotion to November's playoffs (a loss and they'd have to win a PP).

Thu Apr 13, 06:58:00 PM EDT  

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